Core of Power
by Nemati
Summary: AU Harry’s different, as is his magic. To keep hope alive he is hidden away from the wizarding world, but the most powerful magical place in the world, Hogwarts itself, would never allow them to hide him forever. R for abuse and slash. HgHpDm
1. Hidden

_Disclaimer:_ Harry Potter is not, or ever has been, mine and so every day I mourn.....**:)**

_Summary:_ A/U Harry's different, as is his magic. To keep hope alive he is hidden away from the wizarding world, but the most powerful magical place in the world, Hogwarts itself, would never allow them to hide him forever. R for abuse and slash. Hg/Hp/Dm

_A/N:_ Another one, this is my third story now and I'm planning on not making it very long, nothing is worse than a good idea dragged out over dozens of chapters.

Inspiration for this story comes from the movie _Bless the Child_, but only inspiration, nothing from the storyline, plot, characters or religious themes will have anything to do with this fic whatsoever.

Of course, you'll find out in exactly what way Harry is different eventually, until then it'll be a surprise.

Core of Power

Chapter 1: Hidden

_I want to go outside._

_I know Albus doesn't have time now._

_Yes I know school is in session. _

_I know I can't, but I still want to._

_I can't leave my rooms right now anyway, Albus is in his office and he might check._

_Yes maybe tonight._

_I'll make sure I won't get caught this time._

_No Albus doesn't know, he doesn't know anything, only you do._

_Yes I am grateful that you let me out and I'll be more careful in the future._

_Well I've never been caught before now, have I?_

_Yes I know six years isn't very long for you, but it is for me._

_Shhh, I can hear someone talking._

"Albus, I demand to know what's going on. Why did Severus find him wandering through the halls in the middle of the night and for that matter, why is even he here at Hogwarts?" _He could hear a woman's voice coming from Albus' office and it sounded like they were talking about him. He quietly made his way to the back of portrait that guarded his rooms._

"He's been here for over six years now, but as for why he was in the hallways, I don't know. As far as I knew he wasn't able to leave his rooms by himself." _Albus' voice, and they were indeed talking about him._

"He..., what? You mean to say he has been locked away in his rooms for six years? Why?" _Good question, he thought. Of course he knew the answer, Albus' answer anyway, but that didn't mean he liked it any better._

 "Do not worry, I made certain the boy had a terrace magically hidden from view so he could go outside and I kept him company as often as I could, as did the house elves." _He had to hold back a snort, as often as possible wasn't so often at all, which suited him just fine now._

"You didn't answer my question." _He recognized her voice now, he thought he had heard someone call her Minerva McGonagall. He had seen her a few times before now, always from a distance, but she seemed as strict and uptight then as she sounded right now._

"I'm afraid it was necessary for his own safety. If no one knew he was here, then no one would be looking for him." _Ah, the same old story._

"But why didn't he go to classes with his peers? The boy needs an education." _Well she certainly was in for a surprise._

 "He has an education, a muggle education that is. I'm sorry to tell you that our dear Harry Potter is a squib. He wasn't able to attend classes here, therefore I took it on myself to teach him how to live in the non-magical world." _Albus sounded apologetic. This time he did snort at what was being said, but luckily they didn't hear him. Non-magical indeed, they had no idea._

_It was silent for a few seconds before he heard McGonagall ask another question._ "That still doesn't explain why the boy is here. Why isn't he with his relatives?" _He shivered at the thought._

"Several reasons, but most importantly because they were not prepared to take care of his special needs." _He could hardly believe how Albus made something that was such a horrific part of his life sound so innocent._ "Harry is autistic. It's a very mild form, but he's not able to attend any normal muggle school and on top of that, there are the deatheaters who are still looking for him, therefore I decided to keep him here. I felt I owed it to him." _Right...._

"Oh dear. That poor boy. But even if he is autistic he still needs human interaction, preferably with people his own age." _He couldn't believe his ears, someone actually wanted him to meet people, someone was taking his side._

"Yes, now that he found a way out of his rooms and people have seen him, the damage is already done and I knew I would not be able to hide him forever. How do you suggest we do this?" _Finally, freedom._

"Maybe we should choose a few students who could interact with him." _He heard McGonagall say after a few seconds of thinking. Yes, say yes, please say yes._

"Yes, I'm thinking one of each house. I will let the heads decide who. Do you have someone in mind already?" _He could hear a chair scraping and then Albus' voice saying the names of the other heads of the houses. He was summoning them to his office._

"I think Hermione Granger would be a good choice for Gryffindor, she was made headgirl for very good reasons." _Ah, he knew who that was. Brown, bushy hair, pretty face, studious like him. She.... oh shit._

"A very good idea and...." _Albus stopped talking when the sound of his dropped cup breaking carried beyond the portrait. Damn._

 "Toothfairy." _He heard Albus say the password to his rooms, he was definitely caught._

"Harry, you know very well eavesdropping is very impolite." Albus said with a smile. "But seeing as it concerned you, you're forgiven. Now come in and meet Minerva McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher."

They walked into the office and he saw McGonagall sitting in one of the chairs in front of the large desk. She was looking at him in such a way that he felt like some object to study. She probably knew his parents, the headmaster had told him many times how much he looked like them. It was always the same. _You have your father's hair and face, but your mother's build and eyes_. Thank Merlin, he couldn't imagine himself with the same ugly glasses his father was wearing in all those pictures, although he would have liked to be a bit taller than he was now.

"Hello Harry, it's very nice to meet you." She nodded at him, smiling.

He didn't say anything, he had actually never spoken to anyone but Albus and house elves for six years, but he did nod back. He was curious about her, he had always wanted to meet more people, but Albus had forbidden him, had said it wasn't safe. But the way he was looking at her seemed to be making her uncomfortable, so he turned away.

As Albus went back behind his desk and sat in his chair, Harry sat down in the seat closest to the desk. He felt nervous and sat as far away from the female professor as he possibly could. Just as Dumbledore was pouring three cups of tea there was a knock on the door and after a curt 'enter', the three summoned professors came in.

He already knew their names, but not the people, and he looked at them in wonder. The first to enter was Fillius Flitwick, then Severus Snape and last was Sprout. He didn't know her first name, because she was always outside and he couldn't go there.

They seemed to find him just as interesting as he found them, even though they had already known he was here since yesterday. He guessed it was because the whole boy-who-lived thing and he instinctively flattened his bangs over his scar, not that it did any good. He hoped not everyone stared at him like that, that would certainly be annoying. 

Albus introduced the just entered professors and he just nodded again in greeting. They were intriguing. He had never had an opportunity to see them up close like this before, except for Snape. The potions master had caught him when he was in the dungeons and that was how this had all started. If he had known this was the outcome, he would have let himself get caught years ago.

"If you're really going through with this I think Draco Malfoy would be the logical choice for Slytherin, he is the headboy after all." From what he could gather from this conversation after Albus had explained their plan concerning him, Snape didn't like him very much. The man kept glaring at him and had a feeling of hostility about him, not something he had felt directed at himself before.

"Ernie Macmillan for Hufflepuff then." Sprout smelled of fresh earth and petrol. Logical really, since she was the Herbology teacher, that was why she was outside so much.

"And Padma Patil for Ravenclaw." Flitwick didn't seem completely human to him and not just because of his small size and features, those could be explained by some spells gone wrong. No, his magic was different, must be a cross with another magical species.

"Ah yes, all very fine students. Are you all sure they are able to deal with Harry's special circumstances?" He felt sick and humiliated at that remark, he almost felt like he was back at Privet Drive, those people had always talked about him like that, especially when he was in the room.

The four professors nodded and it was settled, he would meet the four students in two days.

Back in his rooms he picked up his pillow and threw it against the wall as hard as he could, there wasn't much satisfaction in it, but he didn't want to attract any further attention. In order to get rid of some of his frustration he pointed his hand to the cup he had broken earlier and with a bit of concentration and effort it was whole once again.

_I know it's better that they don't know, it gets annoying though._

_No I won't tell them either._

_They don't know anything, only you and I do._

End chapter 1.

Please review, they're part of my diet and I can't write without them.


	2. Illusions of Freedom

_Disclaimer:_ I disclaim. 

_A/N:_ I did do some research on autism, even though it's not the main point of the story as you will soon find out. I can't say anymore, otherwise I would ruin the surprise. 

Many thanks to my fantastic reviewers and just look how many there are after only one chapter.

In _alphabetical_ order, the people who actually took twenty seconds (sometimes more) to tell me they read and often like my story. **:)**

**ahappyjtm**: Thank you, I'm glad you find it interesting, I would hate for my story to be boring. (Nothing worse than a boring story, unless it's a boring story more than twenty chapters long.)****

**Ali **(honouranddeceit@msn.com): Thanks, and no I'm not planning to stop writing. I don't know how often I update, but until now I've written one chapter for one of my stories about every few days, so the chapters should be coming pretty fast.

**athenakitty**: So many questions **:)**, everything will be answered, don't worry.

**BP**: Thank you, I'm flattered and I definitely plan on continuing this fic.

**Brit**: Thanks and yes, Harry isn't exactly a very happy teenager.

**fyre**: Intriguing is definitely good, exactly what I was aiming for. I know the pairing are a bit odd, but it's all planned out. I'm glad you already trust me on that.

**gizachick**: Thank you, but try to be a bit more patient **:) **It's only the first chapter after all.

**Joe**: Thank you and I hope I haven't let you wait too long for your taste.

**mandraco**: Thank you and you'll see even more soon.

**MaraWeaves**: What do you mean begging is annoying? It's what spurs me on **:) **Yes, I did do some research on autism, even though it's not the main point of the story as you will find out. I always I make sure my stories are based on truthful information next to my own fantasy.

**MiruSedna**: Thank you and I will write more, don't worry.

**Miss-Aurelia**: Of course I haven't forgotten you. Thank you very much for reviewing this story too and I'm glad you like it. The first chapter was meant to confuse you, but everything will be cleared up soon enough. Immediately after reading your review I started another chapter of _At Death's Door_, which you have already read and reviewed. **:)**

**momma-dar**: Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter.

**rach**: Thank you and I will definitely write more. 

**Shells33**: That's so sweet, thank you. As you've seen, yes the four have been told about Harry and they will discover more about him throughout the story, as will you. So you will just have to be patient. **:p**

**Slice**: And the plan is to keep you intrigued ^.^

Core of Power

Chapter 2: Illusions of Freedom

This was not how he had wanted to gain his freedom.

He wanted to be free to explore the castle, without having to sneak around like he had always done.

More importantly, he wanted to be free to go outside, explore the grounds, fly high above the quidditch pitch like he had seen so many of the students do from his windows and maybe even explore the forest where he knew many magical creatures dwelled.

But no, even if there was a possibility he was allowed to leave his rooms now in their company, he hadn't gotten freedom, he had gotten four babysitters.

Shit.

But then again, it was better than having to stay in his rooms alone. The only things to do in there were working in the small garden that was out on the terrace, fly his broom, even if he could only go as high as a few feet because otherwise he would get outside the obscuring charm and collide with the shield charm, and read books.

Of course he could draw or paint, play with his exploding snap cards or other small things, but he had quickly gotten bored with playing games on his own and he had already drawn everything in the rooms, including the plants in the garden.

As for reading. He had read all the books Albus had given him, but they were all muggle, both educational and entertainment. So he had taken to stealing books from the school library. He would hide them until he had finished them and then bring them back, only to take more back with him, all in the cloak of night of course. It may not be what he really wanted to be doing with his days, but there was simply nothing else.

The headmaster had talked to him about the plan to introduce him to some students, or at least tried to. He never liked talking to Albus, the man didn't just make him feel like he wasn't good enough, but also uncomfortable, he didn't really know why. So he had just listened to the old wizard telling him he couldn't say anything about being the boy-who lived to any student, couldn't let anyone see his scar and couldn't tell anyone his real name. For his own protection of course. 

He needed an other name. He could understand this, there were still people out hunting for him and what would be more alluring than a seemingly helpless Harry Potter out in the open. This time he did respond to Albus, he didn't want an annoying name, now did he? The solution was simple really, he would just use his full name, the world only knew him as Harry after all. 

As for his last name, his mother's maiden name was too obvious, so Albus chose the name of one of his parent's best friends. He remembered him, the werewolf, he had been at the castle one time to visit the headmaster and he had seen the man walking through the halls about two times that same year when he had sneaked out at night.

That had been the most unpleasant year at Hogwarts for him up till then, he hadn't been allowed out of his rooms even once. Apparently there had been someone special out looking for him, but Sirius Black had gotten the dementor's kiss and the paranoia had passed. Of course just as all the years before, he had left his rooms at night, even if it hadn't been allowed, and he had seen Sirius, had even talked to him once, but only after he had seen a rat name Peter Pettigrew exposed as a traitor to two thirteen year old students called Seamus Finnigan and Ron weasel or something like that. 

He had shown himself afterwards, when they had been alone. Sirius had told him everything then and he had believed his godfather, but he hadn't been able to safe him from getting captured by aurors that same night. No one had believed the two Gryffindors, so no one would believe him either. 

But his thoughts were wandering again.

Heron Lupin, that would be his public name and his scar would hidden by both a very powerful glamour charm and his hair. He wouldn't be sorted or go to classes, but the four guardians might be allowed to take him out of his rooms in the future. 

Luckily he had known better than to let his hopes up about all this. He knew Albus would take any precaution thought necessary to keep him safe.

Still hidden away.

So now he was going to meet the four students who would interact with him, as McGonagall had put it. He had probably seen all four of them before and he knew what Hermione and Padma looked like for certain as he had avoided them many times over the years in the library, but now he got to actually talk to them. 

Maybe they would take him outside to fly in the future, or visit the greenhouses, but it wasn't very likely. Albus probably wanted them not to leave the building, or even these rooms, and not let him do anything dangerous, like flying high enough so his feet didn't touch the ground. He snorted at the thought.

Suddenly a soothing presence entered his mind, calming him down from his growing anger. It had helped him a great deal over the past years, especially because he was very bad at controlling his anger when he got to thinking like this.

_Yes I'm better now, thank you_

_I don't know if I can go outside_

_No I won't leave the grounds_

_I won't let them take me away from the grounds either_

_Yes I am a bit nervous_

_I know they won't hurt me_

_I know you will protect me, you always do_

He could hear people moving and talking outside the portrait entrance to his rooms. They were here.

The portrait swung open and as Albus entered he looked up from his book, the muggle book he had switched to the moment he heard movement in Albus' office. Before he had actually been reading the seventh year potions book for the third time, he would really love to try to make one of them some day. 

At the small cough from Albus to get his attention he focused back on the matter at hand, his babysitters. Behind the headmaster stood four seventh year students, ages ranging from seventeen to eighteen, all dressed in the black school robes, but with different colours in their crests and ties.

"Heron, may I introduce you to Padma Patil of Ravenclaw, Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy of Slytherin." 

"Children meet Heron Lupin."

They gave various greetings and he nodded back. They seemed a bit uncomfortable to him, not that he felt very relaxed with four strange people in his rooms, but they acted like they were on edge. Albus must have told them that he was autistic, not normal, _freak,_ or at least warned them to act in a certain way

He had to repress the urge to glare at the headmaster, because now he had to try to get them to act as themselves around him and he really didn't know how to act himself. Social behaviour had not been part of his education and was very difficult to learn out of books. He wondered if they would report everything that happened, like Albus probably wanted, or if they could keep secrets.

After a few seconds Draco apparently had enough of just standing there and pushed passed the other students to go sit at the large wooden table that stood below the largest window. The Slytherin put his bag down on top of the table and pulled out two books, a quill, a small jar of ink and some parchment. The others slowly followed his example and also sat down to do some work. 

Harry looked at them in surprise and almost smiled at their actions, maybe they would act as themselves despite his presence. 

He took some time to study them, during which Padma kept throwing him nervous glances, then picked up his book and sat down next to Hermione, across from Draco.

Albus, seeing that the children would get on fine without him, left silently and closed the portrait behind him.

Harry couldn't concentrate on the stupid book about physics, he had already read it a few months ago anyway, and the people around him were so much more interesting. 

"Do you have to stare at us?" Snapped Draco suddenly, startling Harry so much he actually made a very embarrassing eaping sound.

But Hermione was quick to come to come to his defence. "Malfoy, leave him alone. You know what the headmaster told us." So he had been right, they had been told about him.

"Well, he needs to stop it." Draco was scowling now and Harry could feel a strong dislike coming from the Slytherin. He hadn't done anything wrong had he?

"Why? Does he make you uncomfortable?" Hermione taunted, making Padma and Ernie smile a little.

"Yes he does actually." Draco sneered and turned back to him. "Why are you staring at us anyway? You haven't even said anything since we came in here."

He cocked his head at the blond, funny how much a simple question could confuse him. Albus had long since given up on expecting answers from him and had stopped asking direct questions. 

"I..." He actually had to cough to clear his throat. "I don't know." He said softly. "It's just.... I never really meet people, only watch them from a distance."

"You never meet people? Don't you get out of these rooms?" Padma asked him, flipping her dark braid back over her shoulder. 

Harry just shrugged.

"What about the headmaster then, he must talk with you, he takes care of you right?" Ernie added to the conversation.

Draco sneered. "Yeah hasn't he taught you not to stare at people?"

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. "Malfoy don't be rude." 

"Shut it Mudblood." Came the immediate reply.

Harry, wanting to break up the beginning argument, answered the question about the headmaster. His voice was very soft and rough from lack of use. None the less, or maybe because of this, the two bickering students stopped talking and listened to him. "Albus is always very busy and the house elves don't really have a lot of time either, so..."

"So you hardly ever see or talk to people." Ernie looked shocked and Hermione immediately drew another conclusion.

"So if Snape hadn't caught you sneaking around, you would still be in these rooms alone?"

He nodded.

"Well you're not alone now Heron, I'll.... we'll ask Dumbledore if we can see you more often."

"You can't tell him I said anything." He said quickly.

"You haven't said anything wrong about him, don't worry." Ernie said, trying to put him at ease.

But Draco clearly had an other impression. "You don't want him to know you spoke at all, do you?"

Harry nodded.

"Why?" The Slytherin asked, giving him a shrewd look.

He couldn't tell them about the disappointment that he had seen on Albus face when he wouldn't listen to the headmaster's muggle lessons, when it became clear at his relatives house that he wasn't a normal boy and this autism wasn't curable, when Ollivander told them there wasn't a suitable wand for him.

In the beginning he hadn't trusted the headmaster enough to talk to him, he hadn't trusted anyone, but that improved over time and he had started talking again. Later Albus tried to teach him things, but wouldn't listen to what he himself had to say, so both of them got frustrated and Harry started just reading the books. All the while he felt Albus' disappointed in him and when he noticed that the headmaster came by less and less often, he just stopped talking. 

He wouldn't tell them this, it had hurt too much.

Harry picked up his pen and started spinning it on the tabletop, holding it in place with one finger and keeping it spinning and spinning with his other hand.

"Heron? What...."

Hermione cut him off. "Leave him be Malfoy." 

The four of them went back to their homework, leaving him alone with his thoughts, until the headmaster came back about an hour later to collect them. 

And as Harry walked them to the doorway, no one noticed the pen still kept spinning on top of the table.

End chapter 2. 

You will get a little bit more of how Harry is seen by others later in the story, although the perspective won't change. It will become clearer then how different he seems to others, while to us his thinking pattern is almost normal.

Please review, I need them to live, and to write of course. **:)**


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